Paperboard box cover lock



Feb- 19, 1952 K. c. FERGUSON PAPERBOARD Box COVER LocK Filed Jan. '7,1949 JNVENTOR /i/f/v/vfr/f (YE/60.70#

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Patented Feb. 19, 1952 Kenneth C. Ferguson, Indianapolis, Ind., assignerto Inland Container Corporation, Indianapolis,

Ind., a corporation Anuman January 7, 194s, serai Nn. 69,191

This invention relates to a cover lock for a paper board box.

The chief object of this invention is to improve cover locks of paperboard boxes so that such locks, despite re-use, retain theireffectiveness throughout the life of the box.

In so-called beer cases'the boxes have a life of from to 25 round tripsand in these instances, as well as others, it is the purpose of.

the invention to insure locking of the cover during, as stated, the lifeof the box.

Boxes generally are of corrugated board character but are notnecessarily limited thereto because they may be of solid fibre type.Also boxes may be made up in various manners and that herein shown isillustrated and described merely by way of example.

The chief feature of the present invention resides in provision ofcomplementary tongue and recessing locking associations which arepeculiarly applicable to paper board boxes as hereinafter morevfullypointed out.

Other objects and features of the invention kwili be set forth morefully hereinafter.

The full nature of the invention will be understood from theaccompanying drawings and the `following description and claim:

In the drawings Fig. i is a developed plan View of a blank suitable forforming a box and with the invention incorporated therein and as appliedto half covers of such box, certain dotted tion, the section being takenon line 2--2 of Fig. 3 l

and in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional View taken on line 9 3 of Fig. 2 and inthe direction of the arrows, one of the half covers being shown in theclosed and locked position and the other half eover being shown in thereleased and partly open relation. y

tis initially stated herein, the box, insofar as the bottom and sidesand, in general, the ends may partake of many forms. Herein, however,the invention is directed to half covers and the side edges thereof andthe adjacent end portions oi the box. i

In the figures, it indicates a pair of side walls which are hingedlyconnected to exterior end walls ii. These are, arranged in sequence andupon one of the side walls or the end wall, and herein the former, is aflap i2. Hingediy conto the bottom edge of each side wall is a l (Cl.229-45) bottom forming portion Il and hingedly connected to the bottomedge of the exterior end wall is a bottom forming portion Il. Thesebottom portions have dimensions substantially equal to the dimension ofthe wall to which they are attached and have another dimensionapproximately half that of the corresponding dimension of the otherwall; that is. the end attached bottom portion ii has a length abouthalf that of the length of the side wall and vice versa.l

All of the aforesaid are stapled together in the conventional manner toform a closed bottom, open top box having plural thickness end walls andsingle thickness side walls and a double thickness bottom.

The opposite edge of each side wall has hingedly connected thereto as atI5 the half cover i6. This half cover has hingedly connected to it at l1the cover ap I8. Centrally disposed near the binge il and in each halfcover is the tongue formation i9 forming finger hole 20 when the tongueis depressed into the box. This is to facilitate cover opening.

Hingedly connected at 2i to the upper edge of each exterior end wall iiis a ledge portion 22 and hingedly connected thereto as at 23 is aninside end wall formation or portion'zl. This portion may have thedimension such that it is co-extensive with the end il when the box iserected or, as shown herein, may terminate short of the bottom thereofas desired or required.

lin each exterior end wall il there is formed a tongue 25 which hashinge connection with the end wall at 2B and includes a hinge crease Tiand the aforesaid forms the hand hole 28 in the exterior end wail.

A reinforcing stick 29 ofthe desired length (the width of the end wall)and the desired depth, see dotted lines Fig. 1, is applied to the endwall interiorly thereof and then the end wall hole forming tongue 25 isforced from the hand hole 2B inwardly and upwardly so that it isdisposed centrally below the stick reinforcement and interiorly thereofat the free end of said tongue. Thus the stick is trapped centrally bythe exterior end wall carried tongue 25.

The'ledge forming portion 22 overlies the top of this reinforcing memberand the inside end wali it lies inwardly of the stick and extendsdownwardly irom the ledge, as shown in Fig. 2. The inside end wall thenis directed outwardly and downwardly and is suitably secured bystaplirig and the like d@ to the adjacent exterior end wall. This insideend wail also has a hand hole ioation 3i therein and the stock or tonguei3d resulting therefrom constitutes a light shield and in certaininstances may constitute a cover supporting element as hereinafterpointed out.

The so called stick hereinbefre mentioned may bel of wood or may be ofsolid fibre board or may comprise a suitable corrugated board formation.It will be observed that the inturned tongue 23 protects the fingers ofthe hand. when inserted into the hand hole 28, from picking up slivers,etc. v

It will also be observed that this reinforcement serves as a stiffeningback stop so that the end wall structure at its central portion,l willnot bow and thus defeat the purposesof the lock hereinafter to be morefully described.

Each of the inside end walls 24 includes a recess 33 and in verticalalignment therewith is another recess 34, the latter comprising anextension of the hand hole 3|. In box formation the light shield 32 mayhave this stock integral therewith or removed therefrom. In Figs. 2 and3 the stock is shown removed therefrom.

When the inside end walls are secured in position the two recesses 33and 34 are vertically aligned and centrally disposed near the upperportion of the end structure. Each cover flap I8 has a length slightlyless than the half cover I6.

slightly spaced relation with respect to the 4two series and thus eachlongitudinal series of recesses would be individual to each longitudinalseries of tongues on a side edge oi' a cover flap.

The invention as specifically disclosed herein, however, is adequate forboxes of beer cases or egg cases of like size or smaller.

When a case has applied thereto, when the `covers are closed, alocalized load centrally dis- Consequently, the cover flap can enter thebox while the cover at its side edges rests upon the appreciable widthledge portions 22. Each side edge of the flap I8 is provided with a pairof aligned tongues and 36 arranged in tandem. Tongue 35 is receivable byrecess 33 and tongue 36 is receivable by recess 34 when the half coveris closed.

The widths of said recesses are suflicient to simultaneously accommodatethe adjacent tongues of the adjacent cover flaps. Fig. 3 shows but onecover flap so associated and the other partially open but it will benoted that there is sufficient room left in the two recesses to receiveand accommodate the other pair of tongues upon the partially open cover.

When the covers are closed after the box has been filled it will beapparent that thetwo cover flaps have co-extensive frictional contactand that there is sufficient yield therein to permit forcible seating ofthe tongues 35 and 36 in the adjacent recesses 33 and 34. Thus eachcover at each side edge is multiple locked to the adjacent end wallstructure. This locking arrangement, however, will yield upon sufficientdrawing `more, while but a single longitudinal series of recesses areutilized at each end of the box the construction may in certaininstances be modified so that the recesses are duplicated and are inposed thereon, the naps I 8 having their side edges locked at therecesses 33 by the tongues 35, the covers are stiffened. Since recess 34is a slot, the tongue 33 has no load supporting function in the presentspecific disclosure. If the bowing be excessive due to undue weightcentrally localized thereon, and the tongues 35 attempt to partiallywithdraw from the recesses 33, then the free edge of the flaps I8 willengage the upper edge of thel tongue 32 which, as previously stated, mayhave light shield function and this light shield portion 32 may serve tosupport said covers. Dotted line X in Fig. 2 indicates such depressedposition of the cover when light shield supported.

The invention claimed is:

In a paper board box having a bottom and opposed endv and side walls,said end walls each having a hand hole, each end wall being folded uponitself at its upper end to form a pocket disposed transversely of andcoextensive with the end wall and a portion of which constitutes theupper end of the hand hole, a reenforcing member of a size and shape tosnugly fit within said pocket and extending substantially throughout thelength thereof, the combination therewith of covers hinged to the upperedges of said side walls and of a length corresponding to the lengththereof, the free ends of said covers meeting longitudinally of saidbox, flaps on the ends of said covers, said flaps being of a lengthsubstantially equal to the distance between the inner faces of thefolded ends of said box and of depths substantially equal to the breadthof said pockets, a pair of spaced and aligned locking tongues integralwith said flap ends and arranged in tandem to project outwardly fromeach of the outer ends of each of said flaps, said tongues being roundedat their ends and of lengths corresponding to the thickness of thematerial forming the inner wall of said pocket, and the inner wall ofeach pocket having a pair of spaced and aligned recesses arranged intandem and so located as to receive said tongues on the adjacent ends ofthe flaps respectively and hold the/'same in locking engagement whensaid flaps have been forced to the limit of their downward movementbetween said box ends.

KENNETH C. FERGUSON.

l'RalmlmNcEs CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

